The present invention relates generally to a recording medium for recording content such as audio data and video data for example, a recording apparatus compliant with such a recording medium, and a recording/reproducing system compliant with such a recording medium, and also including a mass storage medium.
In an electrically erasable non-volatile memory called an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), one bit is configured by two transistors. This configuration requires a large occupancy area, thereby restricting the growth in integration density. To solve this problem, a flash memory has been developed in which one bit is realized by one transistor by erasing all bits at once. The flash memory is expected to replace such recording media as magnetic disc and optical disc.
A so-called memory card is known in which the flash memory is used and which is constructed to be detachably mounted on various electronic devices. Use of this memory card can realize digital audio data recording/reproducing apparatuses that use the memory card instead of conventional disc media such as CD (Compact Disc) and MD (Mini Disc).
With systems for recording/reproducing audio data and video data to and from a flash memory based memory card, content such as music may be copied from a recording medium such as a CD to such a memory card. The copied music may then be reproduced from the memory card in a memory-card based reproducing apparatus.
It is also possible to use a mass storage recording medium, such as a hard disc drive (HDD) incorporated in a personal computer for example, as a personal server for storing the music, and for transferring the music the a memory card when desired.
For example, content data stored in a CD or downloaded through the Internet may first be stored on the HDD of a personal computer. The stored content data may then be copied or moved into a memory card. A reproducing apparatus to which the memory card is coupled may then reproduce the content data stored in the memory card. When content data is copied from the HDD to the memory card a copy of the content data remains on the HDD. When content data is moved, the content data is copied from the HDD to a memory card, and then the content data is erased from the HDD (the source of the copy).
In order to protect and enforce copyright protection of the content data, it is desirable to restrict the copying and movement of content data to a certain degree. If free copying and movement of content data are permitted, extensive copyright infringement is likely. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of content users, complete prohibition on procedures for copying or moving content data impairs many of the benefits of being able to transfer and use content data on a number of devices.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a system including an appropriate management of content data copying and movement operations to ensure the ability to make personal copies of content data by a legitimate user, while protecting the copyrights of the content data.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method an apparatus that insures a proper management of copy and move operations of content data between recording media.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for ensuring the ability to make personal copies of content data by a legitimate user, while protecting the copyrights of the content data.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for controlling the number of copies of a particular content data are permitted to be made.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for monitoring copy and move operations performed from a single content data source.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification and the drawings.
In accordance with the invention there is provided a recording medium having a data area for storing content data and a management area for storing management data. The management data is used to manage the data stored in the data area. The management data identifies the path through which the content data has traveled before being stored in the data area. This recording medium may comprise a non-volatile memory or a mass storage medium such as a hard disc drive, for example. The management data further identifies whether the content data stored in the recording medium has been copied or moved to or from another mass storage medium or non-volatile memory.
A recording apparatus compatible with the recording medium is also provided. The recording apparatus comprises a content data recorder for recording transferred content into the content data recording area and a management information recorder for recording management information into the management area. The management information is indicative a source of the content data. The management information identifies a distinction between a first case in which the stored content data is directly transferred from the original source, and a second case in which the stored content data is recorded in an intermediate storage device, such as a mass storage medium, before being stored in the content data recording area. The recording apparatus further comprises a controller for controlling any further copying or moving of the recorded content data based upon the management information. The recording apparatus still further comprises a management information updating apparatus for updating a value of the management data if the content data is copied to or from another storage medium, such as a mass storage medium.
According to the invention, copy and move operations for moving data to and from a recording medium can be enabled or disabled based upon the source of the data, and the type of recording medium.
More specifically, in accordance with the invention, if content recorded in the content data recording area of a recording medium is to have been copied from a mass storage recording medium, this content may be moved only to the mass storage recording medium from which it has been copied, thereby disabling any other copy and move operations. Further, if the content data has been directly transferred from a recording medium of a predetermined type onto a mass storage recording medium (i.e. the content exists on both the recording medium of the predetermined type and the mass storage recording medium at the same time), the management information is updated to be equivalent to management data in the case that the content data has been transferred from the mass storage recording medium to the recording medium of the predetermined type, thereby disabling any further copy and move operations. Still further, as for the content data recorded in the mass storage recording medium, a copy permission count controller can properly disable the copying of the content data from the mass storage recording medium to the recording medium of the predetermined type if a predetermined number of copies have already been made.
The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, and the apparatus embodying features of construction, combination(s) of elements and arrangement of parts that are adapted to effect such steps, all as exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.